The all-female W Series had grand plans to change the landscape of motor racing, all bold and ambitious, but just over a week ago, when it was placed into administration, the championship was all but over. Out of money and out of time it foundered to a halt, an ignominious end to worthy aspirations. Yet across the three short seasons it ran the W Series left its mark on racing. It may be gone but it undoubtedly made a difference.
In 2019, at the Brands Hatch finale of the inaugural season, it was impossible not to notice the impact of the nascent championship. The paddock thronged with families and crucially hundreds of young girls, drawn to watch and meet the role models that had previously been so few and far between in racing. It was a moment of particular vindication and pleasure for the series' chief executive, Catherine Bond Muir, who had put three years into building a project that was close to her heart.
Not that it was straightforward. Having an all-female championship had attracted criticism, with strong arguments that women should make it competing in the usual series against men. Yet at Brands that weekend the effect of the simple visibility of having more women on track was palpable.
Britain's Alice Powell was there for that season and the two that followed in 2021 and 2022, when the W Series gave her a second chance in a career that had stalled due to lack of backing. She was working with her father doing renovations and the day before the call came from the W Series she had been unblocking a urinal.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 26, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 26, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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